The story of murdered schoolgirl Kayleigh Haywood is to be told to Leicestershire schoolchildren through a new film to warn about the dangers of online grooming.

Kayleigh's Love Story tells the tale of the last two weeks of the 15-year-old's life and was launched today by Leicestershire Police alongside the Measham schoolgirl's parents.

Kayleigh was groomed online by 28-year-old Luke Harlow, a man she had never met. Over the course of 13 days, he sent the 15-year-old more than 100 messages a day before she finally agreed to his requests to spend the night of Friday November 13 2015 at his house.

She ended up spending the whole of the following day with him, and in the early hours of Sunday, having been held against her will by Harlow and his neighbour, 29-year-old Stephen Beadman, Kayleigh was raped and murdered by Beadman.

Following a trial at Nottingham Crown Court, both men were found guilty of false imprisonment. At previous hearings, Harlow had pleaded guilty to meeting Kayleigh following sexual grooming and to two counts of sexual activity with her. He had also admitted offences in relation to two other girls. Beadman had pleaded guilty, also at previous hearings, to raping and murdering Kayleigh.

Both men will be sentenced tomorrow.

The five minute film, which was shot on location in Leicestershire in February this year and involved a professional cast, will be shown over the coming days in Ibstock, Measham and Coalville, and then, from September onwards, the film will be screened by a team of specialist multi-agency staff to all school children aged 11 upwards across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, as well as being made available to police forces nationwide.

A trailer of the film is below - please be warned if it were to be screened at a cinema, it would carry a 15 certificate.

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Speaking at the launch of the film today, Kayleigh’s mother Stephanie said: “We will never again see our beautiful daughter Kayleigh. We won’t be able to cuddle her, to care for her, or be able to protect her.

“My heart aches every minute of every day. So does Martin’s and Kyle’s, the hearts of our other children and of all those who knew and loved Kayleigh.

“Our world changed forever the day that Kayleigh received that Facebook message.

“But we are determined that Kayleigh lives on, and not just in our hearts.

“We want her to help protect children – today and in the future.

“When the police asked us, last December, if they could make a film about Kayleigh, we didn’t hesitate to give them our total support.

“We wanted this film made.

“It serves as a warning - to children and to parents – of the very real dangers of online grooming.

“We want every child aged 11 and upwards to see this film, both in this country and abroad.

“Because this film is our beautiful daughter’s tragic legacy”.

Eddie Green, headteacher at Ashby School where Kayleigh was a pupil, said: “The tragic events of last November have had a profound impact on our school and wider community. There are still staff and students struggling to deal with the enormity of this tragedy and we will continue to support all of those affected by these events.

“Across the county and indeed across the country schools are talking to students about e-safety and the need to be careful and vigilant about who you meet and communicate with on line. There are some very good, high quality materials available, but despite the best efforts of many schools, too many young people are still in communication with and meeting up with people they don’t know.

“The consequences for Kayleigh were extreme and sadly she paid the ultimate price, but it provides a very important message for all our young people that it can happen to you.

“What is different about this film is that it is powerful, it is emotional, it is hard-hitting, but above all it is true. It tells the story of a Leicestershire girl and the sequence of events leading up to her tragic murder.

“I would encourage all schools in our county, in our region and indeed across the country to show this if they have secondary age students.

“It is real and it can happen to you. However, I would extend that invitation to parents in order that they too can be aware of the dangers and signs to look for and play their part in helping keep our young people safe.”

Deputy Chief Constable Roger Bannister said: “We must all do what we can to protect children. One way of achieving that is to ensure that as many people as possible know what happened to Kayleigh, that they understand the signs that a child may be in danger and is being groomed, and that we take appropriate steps to safeguard children.

“I hope this film will enable Kayleigh to live on and to help protect children from being groomed. This is Kayleigh’s legacy.”